Push and Pull
by Clichesbullet
Summary: Thalia spent half her life listing in silence the things she knew pulled her towards him and she now has all eternity to wonder what part of him led her into pushing him from a cliff. The story of Luke and Thalia told as a collection of moments.
1. Chapter 1: Stolen

**A/N: **_If you know me and you're reading this, then you're probably surprised this is not a comedy, right? Yeah, I know. I've been meaning to write a Thuke story for a long time but despite giving it loads of tries I still haven't reached my main goal, I guess. I have had an epiphany about it but, so far, I haven't got around to it. During this last July though, I made three or four of these little very short stories and I decided -now that I've reread them - that it wouldn't hurt to have them published. I count on you guys for reviews and support since I do intend to go on with this for around a few more chapters. I'm posting the first four stories at once -since they are so short - but, please, make sure you give me your opinion on all of them, alright? If you're in the mood for something lighter, please check my other stories; two comedies that go by the name of "Calamity Clarisse" and "Sweet and Corny". I hope you like them as well. :)_

**1. Stolen**

One day a boy stole my wallet and I didn't care.

I did't care because I never found any use for the money in it except that it reminded me of how much my mother praised it, I didn´t care because the boy seemed to have tons of uses for said money and, unlike my mother, he didn't look as if he was going to burn it all in vodka.

I didn't care because the boy looked dirty and hungry and because he was so fast I could never see his face, let alone be angry at him and, most of all I didn't care because, compared to the monsters chasing me and the monster awaiting for me in my own house every afternoon, that boy was harmless.

I _did_ care, however, about how the boy had ran so fast by me and how I hadn't felt anything even slightly similar to a pull from my backpack and how, for only a heartbeat –when I looked back trying to get a glance of the vulture that had just passed – I could have sworn I had seen wings on his feet.

Coming to think of it right now, I don't remember ever missing my wallet or any of its contents.

Funnily enough, I clearly remember how angry I was that I never got to see his face though.

* * *

**A/N: **_I'm assuming the pace of all these little drabble-ish stories will go as slow as this one; hopefully the main subject won't stay on their bad parents for a long while since my main focus is their new family, not the ones they were born into. Reviews are VERY appreaciated._


	2. Chapter 2: Found

**A/N: **_Second chapter brings a perky, confident Luke trying to impress a girl whose wallet he stole less than a week ago. What a charmer, right? _

**2. Found**

It was not a usual day.

I could tell it because it was raining and because my mother wasn't passed out on her bedroom. I grabbed my backpack and I found myself something to eat as I took a deep breath before leaving for school. I'd find some monsters on my way and of that I was sure, so I prepared myself. I had already understood by then that other people didn't see what I see, that I was the only kid walking around with weapons on their lunch bag and running away from blood thirsty dragons and enraged two headed creatures.

I swallowed saliva and took the ten first steps out of the building I lived in. I told myself I was prepared – prepared for anything that might show up that day.

Anything but him, of course.

This time I had no other option but to see his face. He ran towards me so fast I truly believed he was flying (and maybe he was); his cheeks were flushed and his breathing was loud but before I could think of anything to say (what do you say to someone who stole your wallet?), I got a glance of a crooked smile and felt his fingers tightening against my forearm.

"I'm sorry but we've gotta run." It was all he said before pushing me by the wrist and taking me away with him.

"What are we running away from?" I asked.

"_Running away_?" He asked with an even wider smirk. "I don't _run away_ from those stupid things. I just lead them into where I want them to be."

I had expected many things to come from the corner we had just made a turn at; none of them involved one of _my_ monsters.

We killed the monster easily enough (and it had never been that easy). I could tell he remembered who I was 'cause I got my wallet back along with some comments about my surprisingly good fighting skills.

"For a girl, I mean."

Despite my temper (and my hurt ego), I didn't get mad. I had finally seen his face.

He had really nice eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** _I'm very willing to trade reviews for virtual hugs, people. :)_


	3. Chapter 3: Kept

**3. Kept **

After that first monster, it happened almost immediately: a bond I could not fully comprehend nor explain but that was easily translated by him in one sentence:

"It happens because we both see the world the same way, Thalia." And I smiled because I didn't agree with him at all – I took things too seriously, he took things too lightly.

"Well, if you don't believe me," he had said after I voiced my thoughts. "then _you_ come up with a better reason." And this time I laughed and punched him on the arm jokingly saying:

"We just click." To what he rolled his eyes and took a bite from his burger instead of commenting on just how much of an understatement that was.

"Then should we remain _clicking_ once I leave this town?" My heart raced and my lungs failed me for some reason. I think he took my overwhelmed reaction as a no because he tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. I swallowed my own sandwich without properly chewing on it just so I could say:

"Leave? What about _family_?"

"I thought you wanted to run away from your mother."

I remained in silence – we had got things all wrong.

He thought I had refused his invitation; I thought he meant he was simply going to leave me behind.

Honestly, my mom hadn't even crossed my mind when I made that question.

* * *

**A/N: **_This aspect of their relationship, I mean, the way they became friends and bonded quickly is something I want to work on more attentivelly in future chapters. It needs more detailing. Reviews, anyone :)?_


	4. Chapter 4: Cut

**A/N:** _This one here was done today as I decided to go on with the story. It's longer than others and although it might sound a little confusing, it'll eventually make more sense alongside with future chapters, as the way Thalia feels (and by this I mean __not "how she feels" but her way of feeling things) will become more evident. Hopefully, lol._

**4. Cut**

"What did you _do_?" He had a backpack on one of his shoulders and a puzzled look on his face. I had scissors on my hands and hair five inches shorter on my head.

He dropped the backpack dramatically on the floor of the small abandoned shack we had been using as our house for the last couple of weeks and walked in my direction with his jaw dropped in farfetched surprise.

That was a side of Luke that always got me rolling my eyes:

"Will you cut the crap already?" I said running my fingers through my new short haircut. It felt good to touch.

"Nah, I think it looks cool on you." He said sitting next to me on the couch. "Makes you look even more threatening." He said pouting his lips with a knowing face.

"_More_ threatening?" I asked raising an eyebrow; he didn't even pretend to be scared.

"It looks good on you, really." He said more seriously now. "Your eyes look very… _blue_." Then he sighed and smiled. "You look pretty, Thalia."

That was another side of him that always got me rolling my eyes.

"I don't need to look _pretty_, Luke." I said moodily, handing him a celebrity magazine I had found on the shack's bathroom that morning. "I have to look _different_!"

He scammed through the headlines – asking for him to read stuff attentively was just too much – and then he looked at me seriously:

"So your mother is looking for you, uh?" He asked.

"Nah." I waved him off. "The _paparazzi_ are looking for me; she's just acting worried to get some attention. I know her bad acting from a distance."

We stood in silence for a long time, staring at the magazine 'till he stood up at once and said:

"I got us nuggets for dinner."

"Great!" I tried a convincing smile and looking at him in the eye but failed at both. He crossed his arms and chuckled. _"What?"_ I asked defensively.

"Nothing." He said shaking his head from side to side, still chuckling. "I'll get the nuggets ready."

"Ok." I whispered to myself, supposing the conversation to be over. He walked past me on his way to the kitchen and, to my surprise, ran his fingers through my hair too.

"You're very pretty." He said again. "And I'm glad your mother is not looking for you – I'd feel awful having to kidnap someone."

I decided that I really liked my short hair .

* * *

**A/N:** _People that leave reviews go to Logan Lerman heaven when they die. :)_


	5. Chapter 5: Growing

**Push and Pull**

**A/N**: _Right now I'm going through some seriously rough times at home so I hope you all understand if you don't get a proper review reply. As soon as things settle down, I promise to get back to all of your great, great compliments. Please keep up with the good feedback, it's what keeps me writing and it's been the Brightside of these last awful days I'm having. :)_

**5. Growing **

I was having some trouble sleeping: the tent we were spending that week in was ridiculously small for two people, I kept having bad dreams (you know, the kind in which Olympian gods sit and talk about how much of a danger you are and that you should be terminated) and I was alone. I stared at the impermeable plastic ceiling and the shadows from all the threes outside, trying not to get scared by the loud noises raindrops did when they hit the tent.

I was a fearless girl, I prided myself on that so often, I almost forgot I could actually feel afraid every now and then (mostly when I was forced inside airplanes, of course), still; as I laid alone in that stupid, tiny tent I hated myself for feeling so vulnerable. I had never been vulnerable before.

My wristwatch showed 2am and I started to worry and to, maybe, feel a little guilty as well but I'd never say that out loud. I twisted and turned on my sleeping bag and that was when I heard him. I wanted to let out a gigantic sigh of relief but I didn't. I remained still, stiff and quiet; I didn't want him to know I was up.

As usual, he was as quiet as a mouse while moving in the dark; had I been asleep, I'd probably not even acknowledge he was back. He had his back turned on me so I watched as he opened his backpack and browsed through it in search of something. The tent was badly lit but I could still see his figure (when had he grown even taller? He was at least a foot taller than me now) and he seemed to be drenched: his shirt was sticking to his skin and his hair was glued to his forehead. He took off the belt he kept his sword in and dropped it next to his backpack, then he did the same with his shirt and sighed; he seemed to be shivering.

I closed my eyes and tried to force myself into sleeping but it didn't work; when I opened them again, I found him with his head on his hands, looking more tired than ever. Luke was always so calm and collected, always making clever remarks even when we were facing some our darkest moments that, by watching him look so desolated, I felt really intrusive. I coughed loudly and he turned around to face me alarmed.

"You're up." He stated matter-of-factly as if nothing that had gone through just a few hours ago had even happened.

"Yeah." I answered shrugging and shifting inside my sleeping bag uncomfortably; my poker face was never as good as his.

"I see…" He said dodging his eyes from mine. We had been traveling together for a while now so it wasn't like we still had any personal space boundaries or anything but suddenly, the fact that we were alone and locked inside a minimal space made me uncomfortably aware of the fact that we were both growing up.

Luke laid abruptly on top of his own sleeping bag not really bothering about getting it wet. He stared at the ceiling – like me – for a long time before stating:

"Cool thing you did back there." This made me glare at him which, as usual, didn't get more than a half-heartedly chuckle as a response. "The whole stormy cloud thing was pretty scary; I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I." I told him, my voice coming out lower than what I had intended it to.

"The lightening stuff too; all very cool, very "super hero"…"

I just couldn't stand his attitude anymore, so I stood up (well, I just sat up straight, actually) and said:

"I get it, Luke, I get it. I'm sorry I did all those things to you, I had no intention, alright? So maybe I can't control all of my powers yet and sometimes things get a little out of hand when I lose my mind but I didn't mean to…" I stopped ranting and saw his surprised expression; he looked almost…_happy. "What?"_ I asked in a different tone entirely.

"Nothing." He said chuckling again and sitting up straight too so we could be on an eye level (which, due to our recently acquired height difference, didn't work really well). "I just thought you'd still be mad at me."

"And I am." I only realized that as I spoke it. "I only forgot it for a second because I was feeling guilty over…"

"Almost electrocuting me?" He asked with a smirk.

"It doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed me." I crossed my arms, losing any wish to make amends I might have had. "Your reckless attitude almost cost us our…"

"It _didn't_ cost us anything, Thalia." He waved me off, rolling his eyes and lying down again; his arms crossed under his head. "Relax, will you? That Canadian was alone, he was no match for us."

"You're getting too cocky." I warned him and I meant no offense by it; Luke was starting to really worry me. He had always been impulsive, but lately…sometimes it was like he thought he could kill anything just by flicking his sword. Sure he was good, but…

"I have reasons to be cocky." He told me with a yawn, already closing his eyes. How could he _not_ be feeling cold? "You and I together, we're_ unbeatable_." I had grown to hate the lump growing on my throat whenever he said something like that. I drew it away by scowling and lying back on my sleeping bag.

Half an hour went by without a word been said, I was already half asleep when I heard him say:

"I really didn't mind the electrocuting stuff. I could have dodged that."

"Dodge _light_, Luke?" I replied with a snicker I couldn't avoid even though my eyes were still closed. "_How_ cocky are you?" He ignored that and took the hand I had under cheek between both of his. The sounds outside the tent didn't seem as loud as before:

"When you yelled at me earlier – before the cloud, I mean – you said I had been…" I could only hear him swallowing as I had chosen to avoid looking at his eyes. "Irresponsible; you said you could have died…"

"You could have died too." I don't know why I even said that but his only response was tightening the grip on my hands.

"I'm sorry." He said finally, one of his hands reaching for my neck where a new vibrant red cut shone all the way down to my collarbone. He ran his index fingers by it, making me flinch. "I don't ever wanna be responsible for hurting you. My task here is exactly the opposite."

I wanted to say that I didn't need protection, that what he needed to do was focus on our attack routines and be a good team player instead of trying to show off his swordsman skills like a jerk but I felt tired and feverish and he was being nice so all I said was:

"'Cause that's what family does, right?" I put my other hand on top of the one he had on my neck.

"Yeah." He whispered slowly, weighing the words. "Family."

I opened my eyes and found his gaze on me. I had to ignore a second lump on my throat; we were growing up.

**A/N:** _Longer than the others and I'm not sure I actually like this one but lately I've been posting whatever comes out from my head, lol. I hope it wasn't distasteful or anything. Please leave a review and suggestions are welcome too._


	6. Chapter 6: Wish

**Push and Pull**

**A/N**: _By now, I have absolutely no idea which reviews I did or didn't reply, so make sure you remind me in case you got ignored the last time. I'd love to send you a reply. :) As I've mentioned before to those who reviewed, there will be a chapter about their first encounter with the Huntresses but it can only happen after they meet Annabeth, so let us continue with this for now. :)_

_P.S.: I should probably warn you that this chapter contains a bit too much fluff and it might eventually cause you to fall in love with Luke. So, hm, be warned. _

_P.S. 2: If you just recieved an e-mail telling you this got updated again, don't worry. I had to update the same chapter twice due to some bugs. :)_

**6. Wish**

"So you have finally gone mental." I sighed these words knowing they'd make him turn around and stare at me with annoyance. I also half expected him to let go of my wrist but that much didn't happen.

"I'm not mental." He stated matter-of-factly with the exact annoyed expression I thought he'd come up with. "You, however, are definitely losing it."

I scowled and opened my mouth to protest but Luke yanked my arm painfully to the front, forcing me to walk with him.

"I'm not losing it!" I said as I struggled to set myself free. Gods know how Luke managed to _never_ let go of whatever he is trying to hold on to; it must be a thief thing. "You're the one who decided to "take a break" from running away from monsters, weren't you? We can't do that! We can't take a "day off" from our lives!"

I bumped violently against his back when he stopped walking abruptly. He let out a long, heavy breath and then turned around again, letting go of my arm:

"Ok, then." He said shrugging. "You don't need to come with me."

I was beyond startled:

"W-what?" I hated myself for stuttering; that wasn't something I'd normally do. I was caught by surprise; the Luke I knew would never give up that easily on our arguments, besides, suggesting I didn't go with him wherever he was going –especially since we were in the middle of nowhere – hurt a very specific part of me even though I couldn't really say whether it was my pride or something else.

"Stay here." He shrugged. "Find yourself a nice, clean spot to stay, set the tent you have in your backpack and sulk in there for the rest of the day while _I_" He gave me his trademark smirk as he said "I". "…have the best time in ages all by myself and monster free."

I rolled my eyes at him and crossed my arms:

"You're insane." I said. "You know it won't be monster free." I looked down and stared at my own shoes; my combat boots looked old and my jeans were already too thin for the winter weather. I felt tired, hungry and, above all things, frustrated. "It's _never_ monster free."

"Thalia…" He started out with a sympathetic tone to his voice but I raised my hand to cut him off . A thought had just occurred to me:

"I'll set the tent." I said already taking the backpack off of my shoulders.

"_What?" _It was his turn to stutter and sound surprised against his will.

"Truth is, Luke –and we both know that – that your only chance to get a monster free day is if you don't have me around you." I knew that for a fact, I knew Luke alone would attract some monsters but for them to come as often as they came, as hungry as they seemed…that part was my entire fault. Even though I would probably never get a day off from my life, Luke had done more than he could for me already, I owed him more favors than I'd like to admit so I'd step out for a day, let him get the rest he deserved.

I placed the backpack on the grass and was about to open it when I noticed he hadn't moved an inch yet.

"What?" I said looking up to find Luke staring at, his jaw dropped. "_What?_" I asked again, wondering whether to laugh at his expression or to take him seriously (I honestly had to do that a lot while travelling with him all that time).

"Did you just implied that all monster come chasing us because of _you_?" Typical Luke: I try to go on and do something nice for him, he gets his untouchable male pride hurt for no reason. I stared at him and pretending to be thinking about an answer before saying with a winning grin:

"Not really." I answered finally, playing with his mind. "I'm not _implying_ anything. I'm _stating _that they show up because of me." Typical me: I get a chance to be nice and reasonable but always choose to be arrogant and make fun of him.

Luke seemed pretty offended for a few seconds (and this comes to show how miserable were our lives if we were fighting over who attracts more mortal peril to the two of us) and then he grabbed me by the wrist again.

"Hey!" I yapped as he yanked me forward again, barely giving me the chance to grab the backpack from the floor again. I held on to it as tightly as I could. Luke was running so fast that, even on the absurd possibility of me managing to set myself free from his hold, I'd probably get really hurt. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He panted. It was the last thing he said to me for the next fifteen minutes 'till we abruptly stopped (and I almost lost my arm because of that), only a few inches away from reaching a gigantic stone wall.

"Here we are."

"A giant stone wall?" I said with a mocking undertone that was pretty obvious. "You do realize monsters could destroy this easily enough, don't you?" Luke rolled his eyes at me and pointed his index finger to a place above our heads:

"Must you always be so close minded?" He asked crossly but I could already see the shadows of a smile playing on his eyes again. I let my eyes follow his finger and felt my own jaw drop this time. There was a strong source of light coming from somewhere near and I could hear music, cheerful voices and smell something like I couldn't exactly remember what it was cause it had been ages since the last time I had even seen one; _cotton candy ._

"A…a…_Carnival_?"

"Yes!" He said, his grin suddenly becoming so wide you could mistake him for the Cheshire Cat. "Aren't you excited?" He looked so happy, I almost felt bad for raining on his parade.

"Luke, what are we going to do in there?" I said trying to sound reasonable. "These things are filled with people; if a monster attacks…" He waved me off and looked more pleased with himself than I had ever seen:

"That's the brilliance of the plan, dearest." He played with his hair in such an extravagant manner, I held back a chuckle despite my humor not being the best at the moment. "Carnivals produce their own powerful scent: something like fried chicken and melting iron mixed together. This confuses monsters, besides, it's so cold, they'll have trouble sniffing us down naturally." I stared at him skeptically and he rolled his eyes at me moodily:

"_But_" he started as to prevent me from finding holes in his silly theory and snatching something from his cargo pants pockets. "if this doesn't work; here's plan B."

He handed me a leather bracelet.

"What's this?"

"Remember that daughter of Hecate we ran into last week when we were running away from that huge pig?"

"It was a boar and yeah, I remember." Luke scratched the back of his head a little before speaking again.

"Well, she kinda liked me." I raised an eyebrow. It wasn't supposed to look threateningly but I guess it did anyway:

"And…?"

"Well, she told she'd been working on these bracelets; said they weren't really strong because she wasn't that great of a sorceress just yet but apparently, these things are a mix of monster powder and fabric."

"Monster powder…? I asked already twitching my nose and holding the bracelet as away as possible from my body. "Ew." Luke scowled at my unusual girly attitude. He hated when I was being "high maintenance" (and by "high maintenance" he usually meant me wanting to take a shower or sleeping at a clean place for a change).

"Anyway, there's a mist controlling spell on these things so, if we happen to come across a monster, it will be confused by the smell and think we are another monster. Of course, she told me that it only work on weaker monsters who'd be too scared to come looking for a fight but still…"

"So," I said while holding the bracelet high in front of my face so I could analyze it better. "It works fine on silly monsters but if we happen to find something really dangerous, then we are screwed?"

Luke shrugged:

"Yeah, pretty much."

We exchanged glances in a silent battle of egos for almost a minute before Luke burst:

"Oh, c'mon!" He took the bracelet from me and held my hand tight between his own to tie it around me. "I had to do some seriously seductive work to get that girl to give us these!"

"Seductive work, Luke?" I asked with a mean sneer but he ignored me.

"Are you ready?" He asked rubbing his hands together. I sighed, resigned; I was there already, I might as well enjoy it.

"Sure." I said sounding absolutely bored. "Where do we get the tickets?" Luke laughed out loud.

"Tickets." He said as if I had something absurd. "You're so funny sometimes." He leaned down, still chuckling and shaking his head from side to side, and grabbed a rock from the floor. "We are using the back door, Thalia."

* * *

Carnivals are a place filled with glee and nice smells and cheerful laughter and happy families. Needless to say, I hated it all.

"Do you want a cotton candy?" Luke's voice got me out from my trance; unlike me, he seemed to be pretty happy to be there which was very hard to understand since he usually pretty much hates these familiar scenarios as much as I do.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged. "Are you paying?" He smirked at me. "Of course you aren't." I concluded and he chuckled.

That was it: Luke had hit his head against something on our last battle. That was the only possible explanation for his attitude today.

"Blue or pink?" He asked with another non-Lukeish smiley face.

"Have we met?" I said smiling a little myself and wondering if what he had was somehow contagious.

"Ok, then. Wait right here and don't move an inch." He disappeared in the crowd and I took a deep breath. I watched the little cloud that came out from my mouth sadly as I wondered what kind of Carnival opens when the weather is so cold.

As I stood alone among those bright lights and happy families, I felt a familiar pain in my heart. Part of me hated myself for feeling sad or fragile whenever Luke disappeared but other, more mature part of me, understood that I had a reason for feeling like that and that it was ok to be like that. I had lost someone before; it wasn't that big of a surprise that I were scared of being left behind or getting lost. I shook away the sad, pathetic thoughts from my head and tried to think about something else.

"Hm, I'm alone and vulnerable. That's usually when the monsters attack." See? Happy thoughts. "Maybe these things do work." I said staring at my wrist.

"I'm back." Luke appeared behind me holding two blue cotton candies.

"And now, somewhere in this Carnival, two children relentlessly weep." I added while grabbing my cotton candy. He chuckled:

"I wouldn't steal candy from kids." He told me. "I stole it from two old ladies." His principles weren't always the best, I should probably add.

"Awesome." I said with my mouth full while he looked from side to side to the park, as if deciding where to go first.

"Wanna see if you're tall enough to ride the Ferris wheel?" I kicked him under the knee for making fun of my height but he didn't even flinch.

"Of course I'm tall enough." I said as I followed him around and secretly hoped I _wasn't _tall enough: that Ferris wheel was _huge. _I had successfully managed to keep my fear of heights a secret from Luke for the past year and I intended to keep it that way.

"It's ok if you don't want to go." He said all of a sudden.

"What?" My head practically snapped on top of my neck as I turned around to look at him.

"I mean," He chewed on his cotton candy. "I know you don't like heights, it's ok if you're scared."

"Are you mental?" I snapped at him and all he did was smile.

"No offense, Thalia, but we've been running away together for over a year now, you must take me as really stupid if you think I didn't notice anything." I scowled at him:

"You _are _stupid if you think I'm afraid of anything. _Especially _heights."

He stared at me and then smiled:

"If you say so…"He said while grabbing me by the wrist again. "Then you won't mind the wheel, right?" I pretended to be ok with it:

"Not at all." I was terrified.

* * *

The Ferris wheel was worse than I thought it'd be. It shook, there wasn't any balance, it made noises and went up all at once just to stop abruptly. I held so tight to the security bars, my hands were starting to hurt. Luke was horribly quiet as the dreadful thing went up but just when I thought I was going to faint from fear, I closed my eyes not to see anything and felt his hand on top of mine.

"Relax." He told me gently. "You're so silly sometimes. What was the problem of telling me you were scared? Now you're hating it."

I looked at him with narrowed eyes and breathed in and out heavily:

"I…am…not…scared."

"Of course." He said. "Then let go of the security bar for a second." He dared me.

There was another battle of egos.

And I lost.

"Alright." I sighed. "I am scared of heights. Are you happy now?" I asked irritated. Luke sighed too:

"Not really." He sounded sad.

We remained quiet for what seemed like centuries to me until Luke spoke:

"You know, you don't have to be scared." He told me and I looked at him. Not for a second his hand left mine uncovered. "Even if you are too scared to control the wind, I can still manage to get us down safely with my own powers."

I managed a weak smile:

"I know." Luke's eyes were on the stars now, so I followed his gaze mostly because I didn't want to look down anymore. "Wow." I said as I contemplated the stars. "Everything looks so beautiful." I couldn't help but saying it.

"I know, right? We got lucky; it's a pretty clear winter night. You can see a bunch of constellations."

"Ugh." I couldn't care less for constellations; Luke adored them and their stories, so I prepared myself for another lecture.

"You see those two over there? Those are Laelaps and the Teumessian Fox." He looked at my stare that always meant "no, those are just shiny dots in the sky" and chuckled, pointing his free hand to the two constellations. "Laelaps was a dog that would catch whatever it wanted to catch."

"Hm." I started wondering when the Ferris wheel would start moving_ down_.

"And the Theumessian Fox was made to never be captured." He added, totally lost in his story. "Someone once thought that sending Laelaps to catch the fox would be the smartest thing to do but the truth was that…"

"They had created a paradox." I interrupted, suddenly interested. "How was that solved?"

"Same way everything gets solved by_ them._" He added bitterly. "Zeus sent them to the sky and now they can go on with this forever." Luke never called Zeus "your father", he knew I didn't like it.

"Sounds like him." I said with sarcasm but Luke didn't seem to be listening. His mind was miles away as he stared at the sky.

"Say, Thalia, what do you think is the saddest?" He asked me. "To be hunted for the rest of eternity or to chase something without ever actually getting to have it?"

I analyzed his expression for a while; Luke was definitely turning into someone different from the person I had known and I could tell there were thoughts he was hiding from me and that bothered me to no end.

"Don't you sound deep today?" I mocked him – I always did that, I could never manage to just listen to him when he seemed to be opening up. I didn't know why, I was just too scared to maybe find out something I wish I didn't. I wanted to believe Luke was the hero I though him to be. He was my family after all.

"I am, aren't I?" He chuckled, surprised by his own attitude. He was back at his relaxed self from before. "I shouldn't be talking about this, especially not today. Today is a especial day."

I snored:

"Because it's our "day off"?" I asked him with scorn and he rolled his eyes:

"Unbelievable." He said, honestly surprised. "I never met a kid who'd forget this type of thing…"

"I'm not a kid." I replied automatically. "And what am I forgetting?"

Before he could answer, however, there was a loud "clung!" and the Ferris wheel started moving even higher in the sky. I closed my eyes again and let out a little yelp; Luke's grip on my hand grew stronger and I heard him say:

"Man, I really wish you'd have admitted you were afraid. This Ferris wheel was such a bad idea. It's ruining everything." The wheel stopped again and I tried to gain enough courage to open my eyes as I heard Luke say:

"No, wait, don't open your eyes just yet!"

"No problem!" I answered, impatient. His hand remained on top of mine but I could tell he was moving. "Luke…What are you doing?" I had strong reasons to believe there was a possibility he was cracking the security bar open and trying for an early escape so I was really worried.

"Nothing. Just open your eyes now." He said cheerfully and I dared to open only one of my eyes.

"What's this?" I asked as I saw the little square box he was holding.

"It's a burguer." He told me matter-of-factly and I opened my second eye to glare at him:

"Do you sincerely want me to puke from up here?" He laughed out loud:

"No, of course not, you moron." He said while laughing. "You are not supposed to eat right now, you can eat it when we are back to earth."

"Then why…?"

"Because…"He opened the box. "This isn't any burger! This is a birthday burger!"

"A what…? Luke, I…" I stared at the burger and the little candle on top of it, then I stared puzzled at Luke and the lighter he was holding on his other hand.

Oh!

"What day is today, Luke?"

"December twenty second." He told me sounding happy that I had finally remembered.

"I can't believe I forgot my own birthday."

"Me neither." He said lighting the candle. "I know we are on the run and everything but to forget your own birthday…How air-headed of you."

If I were brave enough to let go of the security bars, I would have punched him on the arm or something but I wasn't, so I just chuckled.

"C'mon, Thalia." He said protecting the flame from the wind by approaching the burger to our bodies and hiding it with his hand. "Make a wish."

I never believed in wishes; I don't think Luke did either. Wishes are like prayers, you can ask and ask and ask but they never get granted. For years and years, the one thing I had ever wished was to find my brother, I had wished for my mother to stop being the way she was, I had prayed for monsters to stop chasing me and nothing had been given to me. Ever.

So I thought maybe this time, I should just ask for something simple, something reachable and easy to do like "getting back on the ground safely" or "fried chicken for next Friday's dinner"; I should just stop making absurd wishes and dreaming about ever getting them. I should just ask for something simple.

But I didn't.

I blew the candles feeling Luke's hand tight around mine: I wanted to be with my family forever.

**A/N:** _This came out surprisingly soppy, don't you think? This is probably the longest one we will get besides, maybe, the encounter with the huntresses one. Hopefully, you'll all like it despite all the fluffiness, lol. How does it feel to have me writing romance? I feel so cheap and corny when I write this type of scene. X_X _


	7. Chapter 7:Frilly Dresses and Man Pride

**Push and Pull**

**A/N: **_This story goes on very slowly, I hope you guys get that. This particular chapter works like a bridge between the last chapter the couple of ones that will come next, I hope you understand the undertone of what's going on inside the heads of both of them and, hm, forgive me for the lack of sense this might make._

_Also, on a side note, for those who don't know Shazam is a DC Comics hero who can throw lightening just by saying "Shazam!". _

**7. Frilly Dresses and Man Pride **

"Ha-ha." I said with my teeth gritted as I walked out of the bathroom wearing the shirt look had just "bought" for me. "Is this your idea of humor?" He had been sitting by the sofa watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating a bowl of cereal, he turned back as I said that, looked at my bright red oversized "Shazam" shirt and spit milk all over some innocent people's living room carpet.

I rolled my eyes as I took a sit next to him on the sofa. Luke was laughing so hard I was having a hard time keeping a straight face – and I was pretty angry. He stopped for a second to wipe the tears in the corner of his eyes and, as I was still scowling, he stopped:

"Oh, c'mon! You have to admit it was witty thinking of my part, Thalia!"

I slapped his head, he didn't even attempt to dodge, he just held me by the wrist and smiled:

"You look adorable!"

That annoyed me more than the oversized t-shirt. Luke had been acting even more weirdly lately. I stood up uncomfortably, setting myself free from his grip easily, he watched me confused, still holding his bowl of cereal and cocked his head to the side, confused:

"What? What did I say?"

"Nothing." I said with a scowl. "You didn't say anything. I'll make myself something to eat too."

We were close to San Francisco now, he had told me. Usually, he wouldn't suggest for us to go there – he had told me – but he had gotten a hint from some other demigods a while back about a couple of dudes with some awesome cool house who would be travelling for a month or two and, since I had been too injured from our last battle still, he told me to stay home and rest while he'd go out every day or so for food and stuff like that. Needless to say, I was hating it.

I limped my way through the cupboards just to find out all the cereal boxes were on the top shelf. I grunted:

"Grilled cheese it is then." I shrugged, looking for the bread. I didn't know if it was a side effect of growing up with Luke but stealing food was becoming less and less unusual, I didn't even feel guilty anymore.

"Hey, are you mad at me?" Luke's face appeared on the kitchen's door, hesitant. I looked behind and sighed:

"No." He laughed:

"Yeah, right. That's convincing." He put his empty bowl in the sink, walked in my direction, closed the door I was holding open and got me out of his way by holding my waist. He easily reached for the cereal boxes and grabbed my favorite brand without hesitating:

"There you go, midget." I narrowed my eyes at him and he flinched:

"Ouch, I think you just literally shocked me." He said staring at the fingers he had just taken away from my waist. "Seriously, Thalia, what have I done for you to be so mad at me this time?"

I took the cereal box from his hands and bumped on him rudely to get him out of the way:

"I don't know, Luke. I think I'm just cranky about being stuck in this house, that's all." He sat on one of the chairs of the kitchen table and stared at me.

"I think you're lying."

I sighed:

"I'm not lying." I poured the cereal in a bowl of my own, feeling my neck grow hotter.

"I think this is not about being stuck at this super awesome house despite the owner's weird taste in music." We had spent last Friday listening to Madonna, George Michael and a whole lot of Barbra Streisand. I chuckled:

"I'm sorry, Luke." I sat down on a chair too, looking sadly at him. "I don't know why I've been acting so weird."

But the fact was that I kinda knew. I knew there was something I was supposed to know but that I just couldn't put my finger on it yet.

"Thanks for the clothes." I told him finally. "I like them all. Even the Shazam shirt."

"I knew you'd get the joke." He smiled cockily and I threw a spoon at him. He grabbed it midair with no effort at all.

"I don't get why you'd get me _a dress_ though."

"You didn't like it? I thought girls liked nice, frilly dresses…" He added with an innocent smile.

"Ha-ha."

"I knew you'd get the joke on that one too." He rolled his eyes. "But feel free to wear it, Thalia, I bet you'd look gorgeous."

I choke on my cereal and that made Luke laugh out loud. I knew there was something bothering me, I just couldn't know what it was exactly just yet and that was bothering me to no end. All I knew is that these awkward situations were becoming more and more constant and more than half of the time all I wanted was to have some time away from Luke and just run away from it all.

"Listen, Thalia." Luke had stood up and he was now leaning on the counter, right next to me. "If you're ever mad at me…"he made a pause. "well, madder than usual." I made a face and he waved me off. "Tell me, ok? I'm just a guy, I suck at understanding girls and I swear to you, you get more complicated every year." He made a pause. "And you're not even that much of a girl to begin with!" I was a little flattered, he knew I hated being called girly. "So tell me, ok? Don't bottle things up." He looked more serious than what I had ever seen him as he patted me on the head:

"The one thing I promised myself was that I'd never fail you, ok?" He sighed. "So if I annoy you or hurt you or anything, tell me, ok? You're my family. I want to protect you."

"I don't need your protection."

"I know." He said looking a little bit sad, to my surprise; he hardly ever showed anyone any emotions at all. "But I like to believe you do, so…Humor me every now and then, will you? It's good for my pride as a man."

"Man…" I snickered and it was his turn to roll his eyes at me. He remained quiet, staring at me with an eyebrow raised. "Whatever." I gave up, chewing on my cereal again. He played with my hair and started to walk away from the kitchen:

"Also, on the subject of dresses…" He said, turning around when he was almost gone. "I went through this family's wardrobe yesterday and remember how we thought there were like two dudes in here?"

"Hm." My mouth was too full for a good answer.

"They had a bunch of dresses and makeup… You don't think they…"

"That'd explain the musical taste."

Luke's jaw dropped, I giggled. He then seemed to think about something and smiled from ear to ear:

"I will see if they have wigs! We can have a party here tonight, the two of us!"

"A party…what are you even talking about?" He wasn't listening to me anymore, he had already run upstairs. Luke was the total opposite of me sometimes; he was never serious about anything. Here we were, breaking into a couple of Drag Queen's house in one of the most dangerous places for demigods and yet he was probably going to force me to dress up and dance with him to the sound of Pet Shop Boys best hits later tonight just because he got bored. I rolled my eyes as I laughed to myself. From upstairs, Luke's voice yelled:

"_Thalia, they have a walk in closet full of wigs!" _

I smacked my forehead impatient but then I felt my heart skip a beat and place my hand on my chest. Something was happening to me and I was afraid to find out what it was because I feared nothing would be the same if I listened to my suspicions.

"I call the pink one!" He yelled again. I should be laughing, I should be having fun, right? I was resting, we were in a good house, Luke was being nice to me, we were going to party but why, why did I feel like crying?

* * *

**A/N: **_A bit confusing, I assume but it will make better sense once the next two or three chapters are up. :) I just felt like I was failing to show Luke's son of Hermes side. Remember this is Luke BEFORE their encounter with Hermes so it's only natural that he was more childish and free spirited while Thalia had to always be the grown up. Also, I think we ALL know what's up with her, right x)? Also, since her leg is hurt and they are in San Francisco, you can all tell Annabeth is near, right :D? Something ELSE is also near but I won't tell what it is xD I'll let you gueeeess..._


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